In Chapter 9 we've found Paul grief stricken over the fact that so many of his countrymen have not accepted Christ. He's been explaining to us that being people of God does not depend on our nationality but on our faith. Today he points out that God has only ever had a remnant of Israel. Only a percentage of the people have ever remained steadfastly faithful to the Lord. For examples of this we can look throughout the Old Testament. God allowed Assyria to conquer the ten northern tribes and He allowed Babylon to conquer the two southern tribes because idolatry became so rampant. But even during those years there remained people faithful to the Lord. This is how righteousness is imputed to anyone: by faith. It is not our own works or our faith in our own abilities that saves us; it is our faith in the Lord that saves us.
Paul will show us that while the Lord waits for Israel's redemption to come, He is at work redeeming the Gentiles. Israel's rejection of her Messiah does not mean God has cast her aside. It simply means that for a time the relationship between Israel and God will be troubled, just as the relationship between a husband and wife will be troubled after one of them has been unfaithful. "As He says in Hosea: 'I will call them 'My people' who are not My people; and I will call her 'My loved one' who is not My loved one, and, 'In the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' there they will be called, 'children of the living God'." (Romans 9:25-26)
God instructed the prophet Hosea to marry an unfaithful woman so Hosea would understand rejection. Many times in the Old Testament we find God comparing Israel to an unfaithful wife. A large number of God's people rejected Him in favor of pagan gods, which to the Lord was the ultimate rejection---the type of rejection a husband feels when his wife has been unfaithful to him. The only valid reason for divorce that the Lord gives in the Scriptures is for unfaithfulness, so we learn that the Lord had the right to divorce Israel and remain separated from her from then on. But this isn't what the Lord wanted to do. Like a man who dearly loves his wife and is willing to forgive her, the Lord dearly loves Israel and is willing to forgive her. So through the prophet Hosea the Lord told the people that for a time, due to Israel's unfaithfulness, He would be like a man who is temporarily separated from his wife while they work things out. And through Hosea the Lord promised Israel that a day is coming when they will be reunited just like a husband and wife who have put their marriage back together.
"Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: 'Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out His sentence on earth with speed and finality.'" (Romans 9:26) The Lord doesn't give citizens of Israel a free pass just because they are citizens of Israel. They have to belong to Him at heart. Those who continue to reject Him will face the same penalty as any Gentile who continues to reject Him. The Bible does not teach a universal salvation. The word of God does not promise that every human being will be saved. God wants every human being to be saved, but He will not force anyone to love and serve and honor Him. Like a wife who has the free will to choose to be faithful or unfaithful to her husband, we all have the free will to choose to be faithful or unfaithful to the Lord.
"It is just as Isaiah said previously: 'Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.'" (Romans 9:29) The Lord has shown great mercy to Israel. Because He chose her and gave her His laws and commandments, she bore a great deal of responsibility. When so many of her citizens rejected the Lord in favor of idols, God could in all righteousness have treated her like Sodom and Gomorrah, upon whom He rained down burning sulfur, killing all the people and vegetation in the area. (Genesis 19:24-25) But Isaiah says, "God has been merciful! He did not wipe us out. He could have treated us like Sodom and Gomorrah, but instead He has allowed our family lines to continue on."
Lest anyone think I'm picking on Israel, I want to point out that God's judgment would be just for anyone who has rejected Him after having been brought up hearing and understanding the Scriptures. I grew up in the church. I could quote a number of Scriptures. I could sing the songs from the hymnal by heart. But until the summer I turned twenty-two I was as lost as anyone has ever been. I knew what God's word said and I lived in opposition to it. I rejected Him in favor of the things of this world. He would have been within His rights to say, "She hasn't turned out very well. I think I'll just go ahead and remove her from the earth." But instead He kept calling to me and dealing with my heart until I heeded His call. If I had persisted in rebellion, a dire fate would have awaited my soul. I wouldn't have been able to blame anyone but myself because I've heard the gospel message thousands of times. I've had access to the Holy Bible at any time or the day or night. I've been free to go to church, listen to religious programs on the radio, and watch godly preachers on TV. I had no excuse for not being faithful to the Lord. This is what Paul is saying about Israel. That nation was afforded opportunities to know the Lord like no other nation before them. God initiated a relationship with them. He made the first move. He gave them the commandments, the law, the prophets, the temple. But with great blessing comes great responsibility. We can say the same of citizens of the United States. We are a free people and our nation was founded on godly principles. We have been given enormous opportunities to hear and to read the gospel. But with great blessing comes great responsibility.
"What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.'" (Romans 9:30-33) Paul quotes from Isaiah 8 and Isaiah 28. Christ is the chosen stone the Lord has laid in Zion. We can either fall over Him or fall on Him. We can either balk at the idea of a Messiah who is also a Suffering Servant or we can fall at His feet and worship Him as Lord. There is no other foundation but Christ. There is no other bedrock upon which to base our lives. There is no other immovable Rock upon whom to trust.
I'm including a link to a worship song below. It came out several years ago but for some reason I'm hearing it everywhere I turn for the past couple of weeks. I've been going through a season of waiting to see how some things are going to turn out, and I've had some personal illness for the past two weeks, and I've dealt with a great deal of stress in other ways. Life feels upside down, and when it feels like that the best thing we can do is turn to the Lord for help. When it feels like things are falling apart, Christ is the bedrock of our lives, our sure foundation, our unshakable support.
I Turn To You
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